VIOLENCE

10 years ago

Witnesses: Protesters Seriously Beaten

Upwards of 50 protesters were seriously beaten by police Saturday while attempting to demonstrate near Revolution Square in central Tehran, witnesses told the Associated Press. Foreign press bans are making it difficult to decipher the situation in Iran today, but the police use of tear gas, batons and water cannons-and protesters responding with stones and bricks-are being reported by The New York Times and international wire agencies. A suicide bomber in the shrine of Ayatollah Ali Khameini reportedly injured two and killed the attacker. At Tehran University, some 3000 students and protesters chanted "Death to the dictator!" just one day after the Ayatollah called for an end to the protests and warned that any bloodshed would be the protesters' fault. Despite the threats, the wife of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi said the rally would go ahead on Saturday and posted encouraging messages on her husband's official Facebook page.